IDLEYLD PARK — Eight sand-filled plastic barrels have been placed along a damaged stretch of Rock Creek Road, but the safety measure hasn't appeased neighbors who want the road fixed.

The bright yellow barrels were placed Thursday as a barrier and warning to steer clear from an abrupt drop-off caused by a landslide in January.

The slide reduced the road to one lane. Sawhorses and reflector poles also are being used to keep vehicles away from the edge of the road, which heads northeast off Highway 138.

Douglas County officials say the barrels, markers, poles, warning stripes and signs are the best they can do because of budget constraints. Officials estimate repairing the road will cost $300,000 to $500,000.

Neighbors applauded the barrels, but continued to argue that restoring the road to its full width and stabilizing the hillside should be a top priority for the county, especially since truck traffic on the road seems unusually heavy this fall.

Rock Creek Road averaged 282 vehicles per day in a 2009 count conducted by the county. Road resident Julia Engler said it has been busier this past year than in recent years. More logging trucks, heavy trucks and equipment have used the road in recent months, she said.

“I'm just praying that it will be an easy winter and there won't be any accidents,” said Engler, one of about 100 residents who live above the slide.

The president of Dillard-based Terrain Tamers, Brant Boyer, said today his company has two trucks using the road to haul wood chips. Neither of his drivers has complained about Rock Creek Road, he said.

“They're used to driving on some pretty bad roads, so that's not going to bother them,” he said.

Douglas County Public Works Director Robb Paul maintained Monday that the county has higher priorities and that it's not unprecedented for damaged roads to remain unrepaired for years.

A section of Elkhead Road between Oakland and Yoncalla damaged by a mudslide in 2006 was limited to one lane for four years. That road is more heavily traveled than Rock Creek Road, he said. “We let it sit until we could fix it.”

Paul said Rock Creek Road is stable, and motorists have about 20 feet of pavement to drive on through the damaged section.

The county's application for federal disaster funds to repair Rock Creek Road was rejected because the landslide purportedly began on private property.

The county is still analyzing the slide to determine where it began. If it can show the slide originated on county land, officials might be able to persuade the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for repairs. The agency has already turned down two requests from the county, but county officials could try again if they can provide evidence the slide originated on public land.

The county, which maintains more than 1,400 miles of roads, places a higher priority on permanently repairing eight unstable sections of Lookingglass Road. According to the county, Lookingglass Road has 10 times as much traffic as Rock Creek Road.

Paul said the repairs, estimated to cost $1 million for one particularly troublesome stretch, have not been possible because of declining federal timber safety net payments.

Engler and others have urged county commissioners to take some of the $80 million in a public works reserve fund to repair Rock Creek Road.

Commissioner Doug Robertson has said the county needs to be careful with the reserve fund because it was built up over many years in case Congress ended the payments.

Oregon federal lawmakers say they hope payments will continue, but they say counties probably will receive less than in the past.

Engler said she and her neighbors, including Jim Hall, plan to continue applying pressure to the county until the repairs are made.

“They're not going to get to it this year, but hopefully they'll do it next year,” Hall said.

• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 541-957-4209 or by email at jsowell@nrtoday.com.